Frank Turner sells out Wembley

The UK vogue for acoustic singer-songwriters seemed to hit its peak with Frank Turner’s recent show at Wembley Arena. Turner, backed by his band The Sleeping Souls, played to an audience of 12,500, a far cry from the underground clubs where the revival movement began.

The show, recorded for a live DVD release, found Turner in a playful mood, and included covers of Queen’sSomebody To Love and Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ in his set.

Support act Billy Bragg duetted with Turner on the Dylan number. Bragg might have cracked a rueful grin at the idea of an act not dissimilar to his own early days selling out Wembley Arena. Bragg usually had to make do with the smaller rock clubs and theatres.

Before the show, Turner had told the NME that he was startled to have reached a stage in his career when he could play such a venue. "I oscillate between pinching myself and feeling satisfied that this is the culmination of a lot of hard work," he said. "While there isn't a wrong way to get here, I feel like I've got here in an honest way. I'm also sure that I will have played to over 90% of the audience in a room that holds less than 500 people."

He played all his most familiar material, in a Greatest Hits show. "This show has a 'Holy Cow!' factor that makes me think I need to play a selection of everything I've done," Turner explained. He even broadcast footage of himself getting a celebratory tattoo backstage after the gig.